Xavi’s time as Barcelona coach has been varied, with ups and downs that have left fans and the team with mixed feelings.
If one has to look back, the problems started to show before the 2023-24 season began and, as highlighted by SPORT, the team learned a lot from their pre-season mistakes and are keen to avoid making the same errors this time around.
At this point, the club’s leadership has understood that the key was that Xavi was left with a very reduced squad.
That’s why everyone now agrees that it’s important not to let players leave too early this summer. Instead, they want to give everyone a chance during pre-season.
Problems that Barcelona faced
It has been suggested that Barcelona are now more focused on giving the current squad a chance before finalising his exit.
Last summer, it is worth noting that in order to make room for Joao Cancelo and Joao Félix, who arrived on loan, Barcelona had to let Eric García and Ez Abde go.
Before that, other players also left, such as Ansu Fati, who went on loan to Brighton, and Franck Kessie, Nico González, Julián Araujo, Pablo Torre and Alex Valle.
As a result, Xavi was left with a greatly reduced squad and injuries soon became a problem, leading to unexpected increases in playing time for some players.
Youngsters like Fermin Lopez, Lamine Yamal, Cubarsi, Hector Fort and Marc Guiu were brought into the first team. Although it was a blessing in disguise, it was not at all the original plan.
Barcelona will not repeat the same mistakes
Now, Barça wants to manage things differently. It will not approve any departure until the signings it wants are confirmed.
Plus, they want to see all their players in action before making any decisions about who stays and who goes.
Interestingly, this stance is supported by injuries to key players such as Ronald Araujo and Pedri, along with the absence of Eric Garcia, Fermin and Cubarsi, who are away at the Olympics.
This means that new coach Hansi Flick will have even fewer players to work with in the first weeks of pre-season.
